Gerald Ostroski Jr. (born July 12, 1970) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

offensive lineman who played for the Buffalo Bills in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

College career

After a standout high school career at

Owen J. Roberts High School Owen J. Roberts High School is a high school in the Owen J. Roberts School District. It is located in Bucktown, in South Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. It has a Pottstown postal addres ...

, Jerry Ostroski played college football at

The University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin ...

, starting every game as a sophomore, junior, and senior. He was selected first-team All-American in 1991 after leading TU to a 10–2 season and victory in the Freedom Bowl. In 1999, Ostroski was named to Tulsa's All-Century Team. On October 27, 2018, Tulsa retired Ostroski’s No. 55 jersey.

Professional career

Ostroski played 106 games (8 years) in the NFL, all with the Bills; he started 102 games at the center,

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict in ...

, and offensive tackle positions. In his 7th year, 2000, the last of three under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Wade Phillips Harold Wade Phillips (born June 21, 1947) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach of the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL. He has served as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys. He has also ser ...

, when the Bills had an 8–8 won-lost record, Ostroski became their starting center, replacing

Dusty Zeigler Curtis Dustin Zeigler (born September 27, 1973 in Savannah, Georgia) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants. Notre Dame Dusty Zeigler played college football ...

who went to play with the Giants, playing between left guard Ruben Brown and right guard

Jamie Nails Jamie Marcellus Nails (born June 3, 1977 in Baxley, Georgia) is a former American football guard of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Flori ...

in all 16 games. However, in 2001,

Bill Conaty William Buckley Conaty Jr. (born March 8, 1973) is a former professional American football player who played center for nine seasons for the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and the Arizona Cardinals. Raised in Pennsauken Towns ...

became the center and Ostroski showed his versatility again and moved to right guard. After recovering from a broken leg in the 2001 preseason, he injured a knee late in the season versus the Atlanta Falcons. Ostroski won the

Ed Block Courage Award The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...

in 2001. Due to his knee injury, Ostroski retired on August 27, 2002.

References

1970 births Living people American football offensive guards Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players Buffalo Bills players Ed Block Courage Award recipients {{offensive-lineman-1970s-stub